By Dallas Burdette: February 20, 1998
Thrust Statement: God guides the history of Israel.
Scripture Reading: Luke 24:44-49; Matthew 1:22-23; 2:15; 2:17-18; 2:23; 4:14-16; 5:17; 8:17; 12:17-21; 13:14, 35; 21:4; 27:9-10
As one reads the book of Matthew, one discovers that Matthew speaks of the Old Testament having its fulfillment in Jesus. Even though all the Gospel writers cite from the Old Testament, Matthew includes nine additional proof texts to drive home this basic theme—Jesus is the Old Testament prediction of the Messiah. These citations are a powerful testimony to the origin of Scripture and its accuracy even in the smallest details. With Matthew, there is a clear view of the unity of revelation. There is unity, because God is its author. It is in this same vein that Peter writes:
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:19-21).
Since God guides the whole of history; this history has reached its culmination in the birth of Jesus the Messiah. Matthew stresses this continuity between the Old Testament and the events that transpired with the coming of Jesus. In other words, the birth of Jesus is a part of God’s plan for the redemption of sinful humanity. Jesus is God’s answer to man’s dilemma. One sees divine guidance in Matthew’s approach to the birth of Jesus announced by "an angel of the Lord" (Matthew 1:20). One can safely say that Scripture does not belong to the past, it is the Word of the living God. For this reason, Paul could tell Timothy to
The coming of Christ was not an afterthought on the part of God. Paul says, "he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves" (Ephesians 1:4-6). Even in the Garden of Eden, God foretold of the coming of the Messiah (Genesis 3:15). The Old Testament is packed with numerous prophecies concerning the coming of Jesus. Matthew calls attention to many of these prophecies in his Gospel. The prophets wrote, even though they may not have understand all that they penned, that the ultimate fulfillment of their sayings would find fulfillment in the coming of the Messiah. Peter, in his first epistle, writes to God’s elect about this lack of clarity in the minds of the prophets:continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:14-17).
Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things (1 Peter 1:10-12).
The apostles were now, according to Peter, making known the things that the prophets had previously written about. Prior to the resurrection, the apostles themselves still did not understand the things Jesus discussed with them during His earthly ministry. But Matthew is writing about these prophecies many years after Jesus gave them specific instructions about the things the prophets had written about Him. In fact, Luke, a companion of Paul, informs Theophilus (Luke 1:3) that after the resurrection of Jesus that He explained to his disciples the messianic meanings contained in the prophets:
With this background in mind, then, one should be able to understand more clearly Matthew’s insights concerning the proper interpretation or application of the prophecies he cites about the life of Christ. One ought not to forget that Matthew, in his interpretation of the prophets, relied upon the leading of the Holy Spirit as well as the personal instruction from the Messiah himself (1 Peter 1:12; Luke 24:44-49)."This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:44-49).
The Virgin Birth
Matthew, immediately following his genealogy, narrates the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:18-25). In this pericope, he states that this conception came about "through the Holy Spirit" (1:18). He concludes this birth section with: "But he [Joseph] had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus" (1:25). Matthew makes clear the implications about the miraculous conception with a number of statements that leave no room to doubt that Mary was a virgin at the time of conception, even through the nine months of pregnancy. In fact, he begins this story with: "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit" (1:18).After relating these events to his readers, he recalls a prophecy foretold by Isaiah (7:14), who prophesied during the Assyrian Empire, concerning the virgin birth that would occur over seven hundred years later in days of King Herod (Matthew 2:1). . This initial prophecy occurred during the time Ahaz reigned over Judah (Isaiah 7:1). The first of Matthew’s fulfillment quotations appears in this birth narrative. Matthew, without equivocation, writes: "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’—which means, ‘God with us’" (Matthew 1:22-23). This first fulfillment quotation interrupts the story and stands out as a comment from Matthew. By pointing out the perfect continuity between the Old Testament and this birth event, Matthew is able to convince his readers of the validity of the birth of Jesus and, at the same time, establish the role of God in all these events. Matthew’s quotation from Isaiah predicts the virginal conception of the Messiah: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (7:14). This child would be recognized as Immanuel, even though his "given name" is to be Jesus (Matthew 1:21). In this whole birth story by Matthew, one quickly sees the direction of God in this episode just as he was in control in the Hezekiah drama. The dream (1:20) and the citation of Isaiah 7:14 helps to confirm the power that God exercises throughout this narrative. For Matthew, the Old Testament unmistakably authenticates what he reports. Surely, Jesus must have discussed this specific prophecy of Isaiah, as well as many of his other prophecies with His disciples in Galilee (see Luke 24:44-48).
One cannot help but reflect upon chapter 9 of Isaiah when he refers to this one called Immanuel in 7:14:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Another known messianic prophecy is also in chapters 11 and 53, plus many others. Chapter 11 is about the Branch from Jesse and chapter 53 is about the Suffering Servant. Luke in his second book, also writes to Theophilus an interesting account of a conversation that took place between Philip, one of the seven deacons (Acts 6:1-7) and the Ethiopian (8:26-39). Why mention Philip in the fulfillment prophecies? Well, Philip responds to a question asked by the Ethiopian in his reading of Isaiah 53 as to whom the prophet had reference.
The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus (Acts 8:34-35).
One should remember that Philip, too, had contact, and no doubt instructions, from the Twelve. Luke mentions the earlier appointment of Philip as one of the seven deacons assigned to assist the Grecian widows (Acts 6:1). Following this episode, Philip appears to have assumed the ministry of the word (8:5). Prior to this call, Luke says that
the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:2-4).
Born in Bethlehem
Now, let us turn our attention to another fulfillment prophecy. In the Bethlehem prophecy, it is not Matthew that identifies Micah 5:2 as the birthplace of the Messiah, but it is the religious leaders. In this pericope, Matthew does not interrupt the flow of the text with another fulfillment quotation, but he does record the answer of the chief priest and the teachers of the law in their response to Herod’s request as to the place of the birth of "the one who has been born king of the Jews" (Matthew 2:2). God spoke and it came to pass. God is in control of all history.
Escape to Egypt
It is not always easy to discern the principles of interpretation that govern Matthew’s interpretation of prophecy. Sometimes prophecies seem to have a literal fulfillment and, at other times, appear to be interpreted typologically. Even though the correspondence between prophecy and its fulfillment is not obvious on the surface, one quickly sees that the ancient writings contain the foreshadowing of present events. It is obvious, almost without saying, that God is still guiding Israel’s history in His intervention of the flight to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15). The formula-quotations are all spoken by Matthew himself and are a key component in each of the citations from the Old Testament. Matthew, through the personal instructions of Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, evaluates the messianic prophecies in assessing the salvation-historical significance of the events in the life of Christ. The formula-quotations, which are peculiar to Matthew, highlight some ten occurrences associated with the life of Jesus as being specific examples of the fulfillment of prophecy.
Egypt was the land of refuge for the sons of Israel (Jacob). Just as Israel, who was God’s son, found refuge in the person of Jacob in Egypt and was later called out, so also, Jesus, Son of God, finds refuge in Egypt and is later called out (Matthew 2:13-15). Even though this "calling out" had its original Sitz im Leben (life setting) in the land of Egypt for Israel (God’s son), nevertheless, God foreshadows the ultimate fulfillment through His Son Jesus being called out of Egypt. Once more, Matthew brings to the attention of his readers the precise continuity between the Old Testament and the event. In the formula-quotations there is always the sense of divine predestination in the present events: "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son" (Hosea 11:1). There is correspondence, but there is not a one-to-one correspondence. One must never forget that Matthew’s own convictions about the Old Testament were formed from the teachings of Christ Himself.
Undoubtedly, many in the first century read the Old Testament in its unity as pointing to the Messiah as the fulfillment of Israel’s history. It is not what did the prophet say, but rather, What did the prophecy mean? And this could only be unfolded from history. Historically, Hosea 11:1 referred to God’s deliverance of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. One must not forget that it was God who brought the Israelite’s out of Egypt. In delivering them, He remembered His promise to Abraham (Genesis 15:13-14). God preserved a particular nation to safeguard the salvation of the world through which the redeemer would come.
God’s dealings with Israel is not limited to one event, but rather, to many events that are simply components in the overall scheme of redemption that eventually ushered in the coming of the Messiah. It appears, so it seems to me, that Matthew’s application of the fulfillment formula is not just typological interpretation, though it is that, but stems from Jehovah’s statement about "my son" (Hosea 11:1), which suggest to Matthew the greater "Son of God." This same type reasoning is also demonstrated by Paul in the typological prefigurement in the designation of Abraham’s seed as a nation (Genesis 13:15-16; 15:5) and also as an individual (Galatians 3:16). If Hosea had been prompted to say "people" or "sons", the message would have lost half its relevance. As stated above, Matthew’s interpretation is aided by the instruction of Jesus both before and after the resurrection, along with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (John 14:25-26).
CONCLUSION
This sermon briefly summarizes three of the fulfillment citations: (1) the virgin birth, (2) the birthplace of the Messiah, and (3) the calling of God’s Son from Egypt. The objective of this sermon is designed to acquaint you with the fulfillment formula, not a detailed exposition of the various texts in which Matthew applies certain prophecies to the coming of the Messiah. For Matthew, the virgin birth (Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 7:14), the Messiah’s birthplace (Matthew 2:5-6; Micah 5:1-2), the slaughter of infants (Matthew 2:17-18; Jeremiah 31:15) are literal. But the "slaughter of the infants" takes on an additional factor of partial fulfillment, not just literal as in the birth and birthplace of the Coming One. On the other hand, the Messiah’s infancy in Egypt (Matthew 2:15; Hosea 11:1) appears to be more typological than literal, even though the Messiah did physically come out of Egypt.